Adelaide
by LinariteLavanya
Summary: Adelaide is twenty-two years old, and searching for a reason for why she's alive. After surviving when she should have been killed at the age of 19, she's looking for a purpose. Wandering around Amestris, she gets dragged into the ever-growing conflict, meeting some of the important players along the way. -ON TEMPORARY HIATUS-


_**Full Summary:**__Adelaide is twenty-two years old, and searching for a reason for why she's alive. After surviving when she should have been killed at the age of 19, she's looking for a purpose. Wandering around Amestris, she gets dragged into the ever-growing conflict, meeting some of the important players along the way. _

**A/N: So, basically, like most of my stories, this started with a character idea. Namely, Adelaide. And oddly, the idea for her character just sort of came into my head while I was tossing around various Greed, Scar, and other assorted anti-hero character ideas.,**** Anyhow, long story short, Adelaide sprang into my head, and after working out some of the details…here's the first chapter of what will probably be yet another long story. Enjoy! **

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As far as the inn keeper knew, it was an ordinary day. Most days were ordinary in the small town of Teyan. Today, however, was not destined to be an ordinary day.

Not long after midday, two burly men in tattered trench coats came into town. No one in the town knew it, but these two men were mercenaries, hired by King Bradley. They had fulfilled their assigned task, arranging the death of a hermit who lived up in the mountains, and were now on their way back to Central to collect their pay. Additionally, no one else knew that this hermit in the mountains had once been a state alchemist, and had more recently been studying Philosopher's Stones and the theories of homunculi; it was these things that no one knew about that had led to his death.

In any case, the two burly men, named Harold and Winston by birth but now calling themselves Crusher and Bash respectively, came into town and headed for the inn.

Of course, they weren't the quiet or polite sort, so instead of simply asking for a room, they created something of an uproar, which escalated with every passing moment.

"We want a room. No charge."

"Sir, I'm very sorry. It's a small town; we can't afford to let you stay here for free."

"I said we want a room, dammit!" Bash smashed his fist through the counter.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I simply can't-"

"Like hell!"

As one might expect, the situation devolved entirely in a very short amount of time. Crusher grabbed the young girl who was working as a maid, wrapping his large meaty hand around her throat.

"Let us have a room," he growled. "Or I snap her neck."

"P-please," the girl gasped. "Let me go…"

Crusher squeezed, and the girl choked, struggling to breathe.

"The room," Bash said, grinning maliciously.

The inn keeper swallowed nervously, and then reached for the pegboard holding the room keys.

Out of nowhere, a knife cut through the air and, narrowly missing the inn keeper's hand, thudded into the wall.

They all turned to see a young woman standing in the doorway, her face obscured by the hood of her jacket.

"Don't give him the key," she said, her voice quiet.

"Who the hell are you?" Crusher snarled, fingers tightening on the maid's throat.

"Let the girl go," the young woman said.

"Or what," Bash sneered.

"Or this." She clapped her hands together, and suddenly the wooden floorboards twisted upwards into spikes, stabbing at the mercenaries. One spike of wood impaled Crusher's arm just above the elbow, forcing him to release the girl. Bash dodged the wooden spikes, and turned to glare at the slim figure, who hadn't moved from the doorway.

"Who are you?" he snarled. "And how did you do that?"

The woman's voice was dry, but amused. "Alchemy, obviously."

"You're an alchemist?"

"No," she said, her voice mocking, "I'm a toadstool." She snorted. "Of course I'm an alchemist, moron."

"You didn't draw any transmutation circles!" Bash protested. "It's impossible to do alchemy without the circles."

"I paid the price for what I can do," she said levelly, clapping her hands again.

Before Bash could move, more spikes had erupted from the floor, blasting into Bash's arms and shoulders. He wound up pinned on the ceiling, bleeding profusely but still alive.

"Who are you?" the maid whispered, looking up at the woman from where she'd fallen on the floor.

The woman cast her hood back, startling them with her appearance. She had pale skin, made paler by her dark brown hair. But the most disconcerting feature was her eyes. One bright blue while the other was yellow, both with cat-slit pupils. They stared at her, torn between awe and fear.

"My name is Adelaide."

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**A/N: Yes, yes, it was short, I'm sorry. But it's really only a prologue/intro chapter, you know? The next chapter will be longer; I'll likely post it in a week or so. Anyhow, review please!**


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